Tamil Nadu, or Tamilnad, land of the Tamils, is India’s southernmost state, stretching down the eastern side of the sub-continent from the state capital, Chennai, to India’s ‘land’s end’ at Kanyakumari. While it is most famous for its countless temples, there is a lot more to Tamil Nadu than these remarkable structures. Any trip to Tamil Nadu will almost certainly include a temple or three- our favourites include Sri Meenakshi in Madurai - a major pilgrimage place and social hub to this day- and the triumvirate of Chola-dynasty temples, all built close to 1000 years ago, at Tanjore, Darasuram and Gangakondacholapuram .
More and more these days, people are coming to Tamil Nadu to witness one of India’s, and indeed the world’s, most traditional and continuous cultures. While modernity is not far away, and the cities of Tamil Nadu are growing and developing rapidly, there is still a great attachment to the state’s culture and history, and the pride of Tamil people in their language, culture and spiritual roots is humbling and empowering. Heading deep into the countryside on a village walk, exploring the small towns of Chettinad or discovering the quirky charms of places like Tranquebar with its historic Danish fort, the important Catholic pilgrimage site at Velankanni, the Pichivaram mangrove forests- there’s really no limit to what Tamil Nadu has to offer.
Indian Panorama has its roots here- and our head office is in Tiruchirappalli to this day (come and see us if your itinerary brings you through Trichy!)- so of course, we’re a little biased about our own backyard. But Tamil Nadu remains India’s last-best-place to travel: still relatively unknown, but with wonderful accommodation and great infrastructure which ensure travel here is challenging, but in all the right ways!
We’d love to welcome you to Tamil Nadu and look forward to seeing you here soon.
